One week later, Magenta made the first move when the sun rose.
The birds started singing morning songs as the first rays of sunlight illuminated the campus. Most people were still asleep, but the kitchens and cleaners were already up, as well as the practicing soccer team.
Blue and Jasper were on the soccer team and they had practice every other morning in the early hours of the day. Blue was mid-center attack and Jasper was on defense. Soccer was Blue's passion, and he never wanted to give it up, despite knowing his parents didn't approve that soccer was his biggest interest.
Their coach Mr. Hames was a stickler for rules, and made them get onto the field at six am on the dot, or else they had to do laps every minute late. It just so happened that day Blue missed his alarms and got onto the field five minutes late.
"You know what to do, Harrison," Mr. Hames said.
Blue groaned, trying to get the sleep dust out of his eyes before he started jogging around the field. Jasper wanted to do his announcer thing but decided against it, seeing as Coach Hames was watching him like an angry eagle.
While the boys were at practice in the early hours of the morning, Magenta and Shelby snuck over to Blue's room, their feet padding against the concrete. Magenta knew why Blue missed his alarms. Not because he overslept, but because Jasper agreed to help her tamper with his clock.
The junior boys dorms were next to the swimming pool, up a few flights of stone steps. Surrounded on either side by green plants and bushes, Magenta's favorite flowers were the honeysuckles. When she was in sixth grade, she would go right up to the honeysuckle bush by the pool. Then when she thought nobody was looking, she would pluck some honeysuckles and suck the honey from them. She knew how to do this because some seniors showed her, and ever since then she loved honeysuckles. But one day, there were no more honeysuckles and Magenta realized she'd taken them all.
Moral of the story: do not steal honeysuckles from bushes, or they just might all be gone in the blink of an eye. Magenta glanced at the place where the honeysuckle bush used to be, as they moved past the stairs and arrived at the boys dorms. They tiptoed over to Blue's room, which thankfully was not in the main block or else they would have to sneak and get past tens and tens of other smelly boys.
Magenta hopped on one leg and linked arms with Shelby. As Magenta hopped, she slipped over a rough bumpy part on the pavement, and Shelby caught her, hands splayed out to catch Magenta from landing on her face.
"Figures," Shelby said, puckering her lips, ever the mother guardian for her best friend.
Shelby ushered Magenta forwards, "just be careful, Mag!"
Magenta said sorry sheepishly, touching the back of her neck.
Magenta got the key from Jasper the night before who gave her his copy of spare keys when she promised to include him and pay for planning Shelby's upcoming birthday surprise.
Jasper looked like a stone gargoyle as Magenta explained her prank. Jasper was thin with an athletic build, but he struck an imposing form when he chose to be intimidating. He squinted and assessed Magenta as she looked at him with puppy eyes.
"Fine! As long as I get to see what happens," Jasper approved.
Magenta and Shelby neared the door outside Blue's room. The sounds of others snoring in the main building could be heard even here. Shelby stopped in her tracks, the wheels in her head rotating.
"Wait, what if it's locked?" Shelby asked.
"Oh, I have my ways," Magenta said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
Shelby's eyes transformed into giants as she saw Magenta take out the key. It was a small brass key, with the room number etched on the top.
"Magenta! How did you get that? Oh…" Shelby realized who it must have been.
"Sneaky sneaky. That's my girl," Shelby whispered, elbowing Magenta and praising her for her crafty negotiating skills.
The girls went into Blue's room. Blue had a messy room, and that came as no surprise to Magenta and Shelby. But something that caught Magenta's eye was his impressive book collection. He had a sparkling bookshelf with all sorts of books. Blue read everything from Dickens to Shelley. That made Magenta scratch her head. She'd never known Blue to be much of a reader, so she wondered why he had those books. She even saw some titles that weren't well known, like the Dirge Children series by one of Magenta's favorite authors, Penny Gathford.
Shelby quipped, "Ooo Blue the nerdy one. Pretends to be dumb and asleep all the time during class but is very smart and literature-y!"
"Yeah, maybe. Let's get this going!" Magenta declared and Shelby nodded somberly. Shelby put the black bag down, which carried all their supplies.
They became fairies, sprinkling their magic around the room.
Blue returned to his room from soccer practice to find toilet paper everywhere. Sweat dripped between his eyes and he wanted to shower. But as soon as he opened the door a roll of toilet paper fell on his shoulder.
"Thanks for letting me use the toilet. Paper. Xoxo, M."
Blue found the note atop his thoroughly teepeed bed.
Rotating around his room, Blue could barely see anything except toilet paper. The bed, the desk, the floor, the shoe rack, the closet. The only uncovered things were his books, which sat clear and pristine, devoid of any toilet paper. The toilet paper wasn't even white. There was a dark substance smeared over the paper, it looked dried.
Blue roared Magenta's name, his steps going towards the door. He slipped across the floor, stopping him from running out. There was some kind of smooth substance across his bedroom floor that caused easy slips. Blue didn't even want to know what the substance was.
Jasper arrived in time to see Blue with his bottom on the floor, and Jasper doubled over in laughter.
"Stop laughing," Blue said, blowing a strand of hair from his eyes. Jasper leaned against the door and bent over, still laughing his guts out.
"Man, she's good." Jasper nodded appreciably.
Blue shook his head.
"You gave her the key, didn't you?" Blue said, a wave of calm.
Jasper stepped back, one foot by the threshold.
"Uh, no, I don't know what you're-"
Blue threw a roll at Jasper, and Jasper ducked, attempting to save himself. Jasper said, "Mayday, mayday!"
Blue chased Jasper around for a while before they stopped, already tired from a grueling practice drill.
"I'm gonna take a shower, then I'll sort this...stuff out," Blue said, motioning to all the toilet paper.
Jasper said, "Hey man I'll help you, it's my fault kinda anyways."
"She's not good. She's bad. Baddie Maggie." Blue said, his eyes softening at the mention of the old nickname he gave her.
Jasper saw the expression on Blue's face change. Blue didn't talk about his feelings that much. Lately, he'd been more obsessed with pranking than usual and Jasper wondered why exactly this was the case. But it didn't take too much wondering to know. Jasper had known since the whole fighting began. Why Blue was fixated on Magenta and no other girl ever took his attention.
Blue could be more popular in terms of the status quo. He was sporty, smart, good-looking by conventional standards. Black hair, brown eyes, tall, sturdy in that typical soccer player but with a sort of lithe dancer movement, it looked effortless the way Blue held his posture. But Blue only cared about Magenta. That much was evident by the way he spent his time, the words he said, the way he acted with Magenta. Blue could 'hate' on Magenta all he wanted, but Jasper knew his best friend.
Blue was in love with his frenemy.
"Yeah huh, you like her," Jasper said.
"Who says!" Blue said.
"I say so, and I know you best, apart from your daily sweaty socks," Jasper said.
Blue pushed the thought to the back of his head, even if he was aware of the truth he would not admit it yet.
—
"He took my notebook. I'm sure of it." Magenta fumed after school two days later.
Magenta kept a notebook of all her plans and schedule. She had been writing and organizing plans for Shelby's birthday surprise in that very notebook. But the afternoon she went to retrieve it from her school bag, she could not find the notebook. Magenta came to the conclusion that Blue stole her notebook for fun or revenge for the TP prank.
This revenge prank was mean for Magenta. Blue knew she was planning for Shelby's birthday and the effort she'd put in. Blue would tease her but he was usually not cruel. Magenta went to find Blue to get her notebook back. All of her planning would go down the drain if not, she didn't have a backup for her notes on paper. Those days of boarding school with limited access to computers and digital forms of communication weren't too difficult to live with. But in moments like these, no digital technology felt like a form of torture. Magenta couldn't call Blue, she couldn't back up her notes, she couldn't vent on a blog.
Blue and Jasper were on their way to the dining hall for lunch when Magenta stopped before them, hands on her hips. She got all up in Blue's personal space until they were almost nose to nose. Tracking every movement, Magenta pushed on the tips of her feet to try to match Blue's height. She failed, rocking back on her heels. Blue covered his mouth to hide his snicker of laughter.
"Blue Harrison! Give it back to me!" Magenta demanded.
"Huh?" Blue held up his hands, showing nothing in them.
Blue tried to make light of the situation, pushing imaginary objects through the air to Magenta. If he lived a life in a fantastical world, he would choose to be a wild wizard or magnificent magician. Not that he would tell anyone, maybe he would be a rebellious wizard who never talked to anyone and lived under a rock.
Magenta rolled her eyes when he pretended to be doing magic tricks.
"Come on, Blue! You know it's important. My notebook is off limits!" Magenta said.
"I didn't take your notebook," Blue said, his features shrinking into the middle in confusion.
"What?" Magenta was still suspicious of Blue.
"I promise I didn't take it. Where did you see it last?" Blue's concern was disconcerting for Magenta.
She didn't like his concern. She didn't like it when he cared. Because...because he was a meanie beanie. He didn't care about her before when he did all those potentially humiliating pranks. Magenta would never let herself be humiliated. She was good at retaliation against Blue, but the one thing she didn't have defense for was his bouts of kindness.
She stepped back and said, "well! We shall see if what you say is true hmm!"
She flipped her long red hair and walked away. Blue and Jasper looked at her walking away and Jasper spoke.
"You really didn't take her notebook?"
"I swear, I haven't seen it," Blue said.
Magenta went to find Shelby next, by this time she felt very hangry. She wanted to eat, she wanted her notebook. First world problems and all.
"Shel, have you seen my notebook?" Magenta asked.
They walked back to their dorms to change out of their school uniform for Physical Education class before going to lunch.
"Nope. Maybe you left it in your room?" Shelby suggested.
Magenta dug around her room, but she still couldn't find her notebook. Her panda teddy cast aside, Magenta shuffled through her papers, folders, and books. She checked under her bed and in the bathroom. Her notebook was nowhere to be found.
During PE, Magenta and Blue were on opposing teams. That day the sport was dodgeball. Magenta loved an excuse to throw balls at Blue.
They had PE in the sports hall, on the opposite side of the swimming pool. The sports hall was just as large as the swimming pool, only ten times colder with the air conditioner on. The PE teachers all took offense to hot weather apparently and needed the sports hall to be like a penguin house.
Magenta hurled the ball towards Blue's waist. Blue, being agile and bendy, caught the ball in his hands. Magenta's teammates booed, showing their thumbs down. Blue's teammate stepped into the square as a reward for Blue's catch.
Growling, Magenta dodged a flying ball that almost hit her. She picked up another ball and flung it towards Blue again.
"Magenta Davies. Blue is not the only player on the other team. One point deducted from team A." Their PE teacher Mr. Barns said over the loudspeaker.
Magenta's teammates grumbled and one of her teammates, Gwendolyn Belle went as far as to bump shoulders against Magenta.
"Come on Magenta; stop messing around with Blue and play properly." The girl glared.
Magenta pulled a silly face, moving her tongue and she ignored Gwendolyn entirely.
They had a brief history of academic rivalry in class. Gwendolyn was the only other star student in French and some other classes. Magenta felt a bit threatened by Gwendolyn's presence but only a bit. Magenta came on top in rankings all the time, and Gwendolyn was second. After all, Magenta had the power of pranking intelligence, and Gwendolyn was a passive type of cheerleader.
Blue noticed the exchange between the two girls and frowned as Gwendolyn's shoulder came into contact with Magenta's. He noticed himself frowning and shook his head, trying to get back an impassive expression.
"Alright, time's up. It's a tie between your teams." Mr. Barns announced. He blew the whistle and said they were going to do a beep run test next class, so they had to train for running speed before turning up to the next class.
All of Blue and Magenta's teammates sent dirty looks to them. Especially Gwendolyn who said, "no thanks to Magenta and Blue."
Magenta went to Blue once more and asked about her notebook as he was refilling his water bottle by the water dispenser.
Blue shook his head again, and he said, "I promise Magenta I didn't take your notebook. I swear by my prized foot."
Magenta rolled her eyes to the heavens but appreciated that he swore by his foot. After all, it was what got the Mighty Oaks most of their wins.
At the same time, there was a shrill call behind them. Shelby appeared, huffing to catch her breath.
"You guys! Something is happening by the lockers!"
They hurried towards the lockers as the bell rang to signal the next class.
Spider Wells huddled himself in the corner clutching something tightly against his chest. Reese McCartney, resident heartthrob, and student council president stood over Spider. Magenta liked Reese but from afar previously. Seeing him up close was even more impressive. Magenta tried not to stare at his muscular arms, and tried to push down the urge to stroke his shiny locks of blond hair.
"You sicko." Reese shouted.
He punched the locker behind Spider and Spider cried out, almost letting go of what was in his hands. Wrestling the item out of Spider's hands, Reese lifted the notebook into view. It was a spiral notebook with doodles of cats and lemons, and Magenta's name.
Magenta gasped and pressed forward.
"Hey, that's mine!" She declared.
Reese turned to look at Magenta and time stopped. They looked into each other's eyes and it was game over for Magenta. This hottie was looking at her! Magenta told herself she was the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi's wife, calm. Calm. Cool. Peace-filled. it wasn't working and she freaked out inwardly that the school's popular boy was giving her attention.
He ran a hand through his golden hair and he handed the notebook to her.
"I saw Spider by your locker with this. He was sniffing it weirdly." Reese said.
Magenta thanked Reese, tingling up her arm when he passed the notebook to her.
Blue saw Reese and Magenta, scowling as he turned away to go practice soccer. Reese was on the soccer team as the team captain and a forward attack too.
"Reese, in ten!" Blue called, running off.
Magenta's eyes trailed Spider's movements. He scrambled up from his corner and he apologized.
"Magenta I'm sorry! I took your notebook. It was me. I'm sorry," Spider tried to redeem himself.
Magenta looked at Spider, a pang of pity in her eyes. Nobody in their class liked Spider. He kept to himself with mumblings and shifting eyes here and there all the time. Everyone knew his obsession with Magenta except Magenta herself. She always thought if people gave him a chance, maybe he wouldn't be so antisocial. Something must have happened to make him so reclusive.
At that moment, their principal, who was Reese's father, stepped into view. The school board appointed Kirk Mccartney a year ago.
"Spider. Reese. My office."
He led Spider and Reese away, and the surrounding crowd dispersed, celebrating again about the end of the weekdays and what they planned to do over the weekend.
The quartet walked towards the art room logs. They were over the sports field, two long wooden logs overlooking the field on a grassy hill beside the right side of the driveway.
Shelby said, "so, the Ice Cold Elephants just released a new song!"
Magenta smiled. Shelby's passion was music, especially her favorite band the Ice Cold Elephants.
"Yeah, what's it called?" She asked.
Shelby and Magenta ended the day by the art room logs vibing to Shelby's playlists.
"It's called Run!" Shelby gushed.
Magenta said, "play it out loud on your iPod."
Shelby nodded, bringing her green iPod out. Though at Oakstone they weren't allowed to have phones usually, they were allowed CD players, MP3s, and iPods for listening purposes.
The tune of Run soothed their bodies as the sunset came and the sun disappeared over the horizon.
The day ended with the melody of the Ice Cold Elephants.